Lindy

Ever since last year when we fostered those two pregnant cats, the boys have been begging to do it again.  And if you'll remember right, the caveat to not keeping any of those 12 kittens was that we might be able to do it again.  Well, it's kitten season, and Dr. Murphy called me up from the shelter about a week and a half ago telling me that here was a beautiful pregnant mama, due just about any day.  I could not say no.  We x-rayed her at work and counted 6 little skulls and spines jammed in her petite framed abdomen.  I brought her home and the waiting began.  We named her Lindy.  She was so big and so uncomfortable, she would just roll around from her back to her belly and liked to lay on the cold tile on in the sink.  I was certain that she would have them any day and when Cara's girls could enjoy them during their trip here.  Sure enough, she waited until the night they left, right when the boys were about to go to bed.  Cameron and Gavin came to get me saying that Lindy had a little tail coming out of her bottom.  She did indeed, and 4 kittens were born back to back.  She took a bit of a break ad then delivered, numbers five and six, and them another!  One must've been hiding on x-ray, but in the end there were four grey tabbies, one all grey, and two black kitties.  Five boys and two girls.  Another miracle to watch.  Each of the boys got to name two, and Jeremy one.  Cameron chose Gulliver and Indy, Gavin chose Finney and Griffin, and Mason picked Mars and Anders.  Jeremy was the most creative of the bunch with Rocky...  I'm so glad we could do this again even with all the work involved.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Keeping up with the Jones'

I have been very blessed in my life to know a few choice people that have become such close friends that time and distance cannot break those friendship bonds.  My friend Cara is one of them.  I met Cara my freshman year at BYU and we quickly latched on to each other.  We were bridesmaids at each others weddings, and have shared joys and heartaches that life has brought.  Although she and her family live in Park City, Utah, we have been able to keep up with each other, through rare visits, our blogs and occasional phone calls.  One of the best things about these types of friends is that even if you haven't spoken to them in years, when you are reunited it is like no time has passed passed and you pick right back up where you left off.  This time when Cara came to visit she brought her whole family.  Even though my boys were turned off at the fact that her two oldest were girls, it was a matter of minutes before they were off playing and laughing together.  They came to see and tour DC, hard-core style.  They went into town four days straight, and passed out each night just to do it all again the next day.  Saturday our family all joined them at Mount Vernon, even Baldwin, on his first big time outing.  Thankfully, he did great and the kids were pretty good along the way.  I am sad that they live all the way across the country but plans are already in the works for us to go visit them in the near future.  It won't come soon enough.

Mason's Nursing Home Performance

Last week Mason had a short performance for the residents of a local nursing home.  Our little ham loved every minute.  He was so excited to be the "daddy duck."

Jamaica!

 

Jeremy works really hard at work.  This year he worked REALLY hard.  Hard enough to have earned a spot as one of the top 25 producers in his company last year, which qualified he and a guest (me! me!) for an all expenses paid trip to Jamaica.  This is where I am so thankful that we live near family and that I have a mother that didn't mind exhausting herself for 5 days while my children ran her ragged.  Love, love, love you Mom and Jeff!  Even just flying into the airport in Montego Bay was breathtaking, the water was so turquoise and the trees were so green.  We felt like we were in a fairytale as our driver took us to the resort we would be staying at.  This is a place that we would never be able to afford to stay at and it was absolutely gorgeous.  Our suite had a patio that walked straight out to a private beach.  The water was warm and clear, and it was sunny and hot the whole time.  We ate amazing food and got to go snorkeling, seeing the most colorful, beautiful fish and coral.  One day we went on a zip line course that took you through the rainforest overlooking the ocean.  It was pretty terrifying, especially the suspended platform and the drops straight down, but really fun once you got past all of that.  We were also able to swim with the dolphins and actually on them!  That was an experience I will never forget.  We felt so spoiled and so grateful to be treated to a vacation of a lifetime.  It was so relaxing to be able to get up whenever we wanted to and not to have any responsibilities for a few days.  Funny how we missed those little buggers of ours though.  Maybe we can all go back to this paradise someday.

The Johnson FIVE!

The youngest Johnson turned a whopping high five today.  Five is a big deal in this house, it means starting school soon and getting some "big kid" responsibilities.  Mason has been talking about his birthday since April 10th of last year, planning and replanning all the details from his friend party (still to come) to what kind of cake he wants and where to go out to eat, etc.  He woke up this morning telling everyone happy birthday and laughing at the silliness of that, then opening his gifts,( legos!  super hero stuff!) and eating a mountain of donut holes for breakfast.  Our day involved a lot of running around since tomorrow Jeremy and I hop off to Jamaica for a few days and I had to get the kids and the dog ready for their perspective stay-overs, but they did sing to him at swim class and we did indeed go out to eat at Red Robin and then to Grandma's for cake and ice cream after which we tucked our three munchkins in there to stay and are now home in a very empty quiet house.  Of all of my boys, Mason may be my most difficult.  Mostly because he is a STUBBORN little guy that isn't afraid to speak his mind and plant his feet.  Sometimes he wants to be one of the big boys and do things on his own, without help, but sometimes he likes to stay the baby and regresses to asking for help with socks and shoes he's been putting on himself for years.  As frustrating as this can get, I often take a deep breath and realize most of the time this means he needs some more attention (even though it's always when I'm in a hurry!) and more of his mama.  Man this kid is clever and can reason his way out of anything.  When he is in a great mood I could just eat him up and his facial expressions make him fit for a camera career.  We sure do love this little guy and hope he keeps pushing us to our limit so we can evolve into better parents, pr at least more patient ones.

Hoppy Easter

Spring Break in our county always comes the week before Easter.  This year we were expecting to get a young puppy over the break and did not make any fun plans besides housebreaking and getting to know our new little one.  Since we got Baldwin earlier and he is older, we had some free time for play dates, time at the pool and playground in the not so springlike weather.  It even snowed on Monday!  For our actual Easter, Grandma and Jeff came over for our feast and we took the dog cousins to the tennis courts for some play time.  Jeremy introduced the kids to the movie Ben Hur, and Mason promptly fell asleep.  The older kids enjoyed the "fighting parts."  We also skyped with our cousins in Australia and wished them here in our living room.  Can't wait until they are here to celebrate the holidays with us in person.

Baldwin

Last Sunday we got a phone call from Guiding Eyes saying that a 14 week old yellow male lab was available immediately if we wanted him.  He had been sick with a urinary tract infection when the rest of his litter was tested and kind of forgotten after that.  After learning some more about him we decided that an older puppy would mean less housebreaking and he would have had all of his shots so he could be taken anywhere, including to work with me, which was a bonus.  Tuesday night we met the van and got our sweet Baldwin.  We knew he was a bit "soft" which meant that he was more of a cuddler and less hard headed than some of the puppies which sounds great, and it is for a pet, but guide dogs need to be super confident and even a bit stubborn.  But he was good enough to pass his initial tests so he has the potential, we just need to work extra hard to pull that out of him by building his confidence.  He slept great that first night but was having accidents all over the place the next day.  For a moment Jeremy and I asked what we had gotten ourselves into, but lo and behold Baldwin started to feel more at home and didn't have any accidents yesterday or today.  He is super gentle with the kids, in fact, the dog he watched a few weeks ago was much more active and playful and the kids were almost disappointed that Baldwin wasn't as much.  He will lay next to Gavin while he reads to him, Mason isn't afraid he will jump up on him, and Cameron could throw a ball for him all day long.  Jeremy loves to play hide and seek with him and I just just love to snuggle him.  He fell asleep when I held him like a baby yesterday and I was in heaven.  He is learning commands so quickly and you can tell he really wants to please you.  We love him!